Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 31, 2006 18:53:14 GMT 12
69 years ago the Royal New Zealand Air Force was seperated from the New Zealand Army and became a stand alone military service.
At that time there were two main stations, Wigram and Hobsonville. There were very few permanent staff, and the aircraft they had were mostly old and obsolete (Vildebeestes, Grebes, Moths, Fairey IIIF, Avro 626's, etc).
However with the formation of the seperate service an expansion came, and not before time.
Soon they'd have Oxfords, Baffins, Gordons, Hinds and much more arriving, then the war would see the new stations and new types, thousands of men and women joining. What great days they were for the RNZAF.
In 1987 when the 50th Anniversary was held, there was so much said and written about how the RNZAF had grown to become a mature, potent service, etc, and it only looked good for the future. Then, they never envisaged the days of this decade with base closures, strike wing gone, work farmed off to civil contractors, etc.
I seriously wonder which times have been better for the service, obsolete biplanes and two bases, or obsolete turboprops and two bases... After all the progress from 1937 to 1987, I think the RNZAF is in much the same position now as it was 70 years ago. Sad, but true.
At that time there were two main stations, Wigram and Hobsonville. There were very few permanent staff, and the aircraft they had were mostly old and obsolete (Vildebeestes, Grebes, Moths, Fairey IIIF, Avro 626's, etc).
However with the formation of the seperate service an expansion came, and not before time.
Soon they'd have Oxfords, Baffins, Gordons, Hinds and much more arriving, then the war would see the new stations and new types, thousands of men and women joining. What great days they were for the RNZAF.
In 1987 when the 50th Anniversary was held, there was so much said and written about how the RNZAF had grown to become a mature, potent service, etc, and it only looked good for the future. Then, they never envisaged the days of this decade with base closures, strike wing gone, work farmed off to civil contractors, etc.
I seriously wonder which times have been better for the service, obsolete biplanes and two bases, or obsolete turboprops and two bases... After all the progress from 1937 to 1987, I think the RNZAF is in much the same position now as it was 70 years ago. Sad, but true.
